An idealistic young photographer and her hapless flatmate set out to sell her work to the galleries of Istanbul. Dump of Untitled Pieces is a black-and-white comedy, full of dry humour, about art, ambition and the fine art of almost making it, with the energy of the Nouvelle Vague and the ease of good friendship.
Aslı photographs the hands of the people in the bustle of Istanbul, using an old film camera. She believes in her work, and that is precisely the problem, because the art market around her is falling apart and full of people who are mostly pretending to understand anything. Together with her slightly hopeless flatmate Murat, she does the rounds of galleries, collectors and self-appointed connoisseurs, hoping someone will buy her photographs. Meanwhile, the two of them are facing eviction.
Kuru shoots all of this in gorgeous black and white, and that is more than just a pretty picture. It gives the film something timeless, and at the same time something light, as though you were walking through today’s Istanbul with the eye of a 1960s classic. The tone is dry, the dialogue is sharp, and the film takes real pleasure in puncturing the inflated intellectualism of the art world, without ever turning cynical.
Beneath the jokes lies something anyone who has ever been young, broke and full of ideals will recognise: the clash between what you want to make and what the world is willing to buy. Comparisons with Frances Ha and The Worst Person in the World come easily, and not without reason.
At the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Dump of Untitled Pieces won awards for best music and best art direction, along with the prize from the Turkish film critics. A film to fall in love with, the way you fall for a city, a summer, or a friendship that could go anywhere.
